False Impressions 2 chapter 3

Ch 3

                Ryo scanned the crowd exiting the plane. "Ne, Dee…"

                "Hmm?"

                "How're we supposed to tell who Alex is?"

                "Well… he'll probably recognize this group." Dee pointed over his shoulder at the Breits, JJ and Sean. "And if we keep talking about him he'll probably figure it out."

                Ryo sweatdropped. "They certainly do stand out don't they…"

                "We're lucky security hasn't shown up. Wonder why her old man doesn't like JJ?"

                Ryo shrugged. "I don't know, but if she acts this way every time she sees that Hilde woman no wonder JJ insisted they move up here. I wonder why they don't get along?"

                "It's a really long story and I don't think you have time to hear it."

                The cops jumped and spun to see a man standing behind them, watching them with amused blue eyes. Dee grinned. "You must be Alex."

                "And since I haven't talked to my half-sister in months I have no clue who you are." Alex held out a hand. "Alex Breit."

                "I'm Dee Laytner and this is my partner Ryo."

                Ryo nudged him. "Randy McLane."

                "Strange nickname. Are you Japanese?"

                Ryo sighed. "Half."

                Alex was about to say something else when he cut himself off and grinned. "Well, well, looks like everyone showed up." He waved at his family who all waved back. Sean did his best to wave but still had a JJ hanging on his arm. Alex raised an eyebrow. "What's this?" He looked over at Dee. "Did you finally manage to get rid of the Adams boy obsession with you?"

                Dee shrugged. "Looks like it."

                Alex looked back over at the group. "Who's the other new guy?"
                "Josh!" Danny proclaimed, latching her arms around Dee's neck and grinning over his shoulder at Alex. "My boyfriend."

                "You've got a boyfriend, JJ, Sean and a guy who lets you pounce him. I'd say you've done pretty good up here."

                "They're all cute too!" Danny grinned.

                Alex smirked. "I noticed." He kissed Danny's cheeks as she moved to pounce him instead. "Still haven't gotten over that habit, have you?"

                "I'm an enthusiast." She replied simply.

                "I noticed that too." He smiled as the others walked up to them. "Hello. As you've probably already guessed, or knew before, I'm Alex Breit."

                Josh nodded, eyeing him speculatively. "Josh Raven."

                "I know. The couple here's been filling me in."

                Ryo blinked, then sweatdropped. Dee grinned and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Danny hummed, toying with Alex's lapel. "What are you really doing up here, anyway?"

                "Hasn't father filled you in yet?"

                Dirk shook his head. "Barely had a chance."

                "You got here yesterday."

                "I had a few questions for Sean first."

                "Oh. Well…That's another long story, better save it for later." He wrapped one arm around Danny and the other around Sean. "We'd better get going before someone steals my bags."

                They all walked off in one long, straggling group. Dee grabbed JJ's sleeve, tugging him back to walk alongside him and Ryo. "Give me the whole story about Alex."

                "What about him?"

                "He obviously knows Sean pretty well."

                "They all know Sean pretty well. Hilde mothers him all the time."

                "But how?"

                JJ shrugged. "He and Danny don't talk about their pasts much. He wasn't a criminal though, that much I know."

                Dee sniffed. "The lone innocent, it seems."

                "I guess… As far as I can tell he's known the family for a long time. He already knew Laura and Danny when I first met them."

                "Do you know how he got involved with them?"

                "No. He's even more silent about his past than Danny is."

                "Still, you've known him pretty well for years. You don't know anything?"

                "I know he first met Danny around when they were both around 18, he didn't start dating Laura until a couple years ago, he graduated from college, his family's fairly rich and he has no criminal record."

                "That's it?" Dee frowned. "That's not very much."

                "We don't talk about stuff that happened before we met."

                "Did he have a tragic childhood or something?" Ryo was curious.

                "I don't think so. He's never mentioned one."

                "So what would a nice, normal guy like him be doing hanging around with you and Danny?"

                JJ glared at Ryo, voice acidic. "Perhaps because he likes us?"

                "Ah, sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

                Dee watched the group ahead of them for a minute as they walked. Alex still had his arms around Sean and Danny and all three were talking and laughing. Dirk and Hilde walked behind them, talking to Josh. His eyes narrowed as he focused on Sean and Alex. "I think I have an idea of why Sean ended up joining them…"

                "Eh?"

                He pointed at Alex, who was intent on something Sean was saying. "Looks like Danny's bad luck with men extends even to her brother."

                "Huh?" The other two stared at him, confused.

                "I mean…" Dee grinned tauntingly at JJ. "You've got competition, gay boy."

                JJ blinked. "Competition?" He looked back up at Alex and Sean and slowly sweatdropped. "…SHIT!"

                Ryo looked confused as Dee laughed. "What's wrong, JJ?"

                JJ waved for Danny to join them as she looked back to check on them. She excused herself and waited for them to catch up. "Wassup?"

                JJ pointed at Alex. "He was his boyfriend, wasn't he?"

                "Jamie, I'm sorry but that went right over my head. Who was whose boyfriend?"
                "Alex was Sean's."

                "Yeah."

                He simply stared at her for a minute. She slowly sweatdropped. "What about it?"

                "Why didn't you tell me?!" JJ looked about ready to explode.

                "You didn't know?"

                "How can I know if you don't tell me?"

                "I thought Sean did."

                "Hey, hey, what's this?" Now Dee was confused again.

                Danny shrugged. "After Laura introduced us to Sean Alex started dating him. They were pretty steady till a few years ago when…" She trailed off, thinking. "I'm not sure what happened, really."

                "You didn't notice anything wrong?"

                She shrugged. "I'd just started living with Jamie. We were busy getting used to each other. Anyway, something happened and they broke up for a bit. Sean was single for a bit then went out with Laura a few times. Then Alex changed his mind, or something, so they got together again." She shrugged. "The way things stood when I left he hadn't gotten exclusive with Alex again, he was still going out with Laura too."

                "Double timing?"

                "They both knew. I don't think he was too serious with Laura then and whatever had broken him up with Alex in the first place obviously hadn't been resolved."

                "So what about now?"

                "I don't know. He offered to come up with me, Jamie and Laura when we first came up."

                "Hmmm…" JJ watched Alex and Sean, who'd moved back to talk to Dirk and Hilde. "I wonder why they broke up…"

                Dee looked at him then at Danny. "You know, don't you?"

                She grinned and winked. "Me?" She put on her best wide-eyed innocent look. "What would a little girl like me know?"

                Dee snorted. "You know more then you let on, girl." He ruffled her hair.

                She laughed. "Perhaps." She dashed over to JJ, tugging on his sleeve. "Ne, Jamie…"

                "What?"

                "Let's all go to dinner together!"

                "…You've got to be kidding me."

                "Come on! It'll be fun!"

                "Absolutely not!"

                "Please!"

                "No."

                "Please! Please, please, please!" She locked her arms around his neck. "I'll make daddy promise to behave."

                "Dinner with your father and Josh is the last thing I want."

                "Pleeeeeease!"

                "No means no."

                She pouted. "Come on! It'll be fun! Alex will just end up going with you and Sean, you know."

                JJ made a face. "Why should I care about that?"

                "Cause you like Sean." The cat ears were back. Ryo almost swore he could see a wagging tail too. "Come on!"

                "I said no!"

                She sniffled, looking up at him with big eyes. "Please."

                "…You said you weren't going to do that again."

                "Unless it mattered. And it does."

                "Why?" JJ shook his head. "It's a stupid idea."

                She pouted. "Why don't you just go?"

                "That should be pretty obvious. You're going to argue with Hilde all evening, your father hates me and I don't like him or Josh."

                "I told you, I'd make daddy promise to behave."

                "But will you?"

                "He'll make me promise to behave in return. I always keep my promises to daddy."

                "I know." JJ's voice had a strange tinge of bitterness to it.

                "So come!" She grabbed him by the arm.

                He sighed. "Fine!"

                "Yay!" She glomped him. "Thanks!" She looked over at Dee and Ryo and grinned. "You're coming too, right?"

                "Eh?" Ryo blinked. "Us?"

                "Sounds good to me, but…" Dee sighed. "Carol's heading out of town to visit some relatives this weekend and wants to have dinner with us before she leaves."

                Danny pouted. "Well, can't argue with that."

                JJ patted her on the head. "Why don't you ask her and Bikky to come along too?"

                "Would that be OK?"

                Danny considered. "Ah, why not. Do they like Italian food?"

                Ryo nodded.

                She clapped her hands together. "Then it's set! Let's meet at seven at Joanna's over on 92nd street. That OK with you?"

                "Sure. We'll be there."

                "Great."

                "Are you leaving?"

                "Daddy wants to talk to me and the others are going to help Alex settle in at the hotel. I figured you two would probably rather go home for a bit." She winked. Dee grinned. "So," She turned to JJ. "I'm going back to the hotel with daddy, in case you want to head back to our place."

                He sighed. "Just dumping me, huh?"

                "Would you rather hang around with Daddy?"

                "…Never mind."

                She grinned. "I didn't think so. Josh is going with Hilde and Alex but Sean's busy so you probably don't want to go with them either."

                He feigned indifference. "I wasn't planning on going with them anyway."

                "Of course not."

                He shrugged. "I should probably go back and clean the place up a bit."

                She nodded. "Good idea. Stock the fridge too, would ya? And we'll need some alcohol and…"

                "Should I make a list?"

                "Nah. Just remember food and alcohol."

                "Who could forget that?" He waved.

                "You probably could. Don't forget Daddy likes Jack Daniels."

                "What about Alex?"

                "He usually drinks whatever Sean or Daddy is drinking."

                "OK."

                Dee laughed at them, earning him a pair of annoyed looks. Danny hit him lightly on the shoulder. "What's so funny?"

                "You two act like a married couple."

                She made a face at him. "No, we don't argue enough." She peered around and sweatdropped. The only one nearby was Dirk, who was standing nearby watching them and looking amused. "Oops. We took to long, they already went off without us."

                Dee kissed her cheek. "Well, we're off too. Better go see if we can find Bikky and Carol to tell them about the change of plans."

                Ryo waved. "We'll see you at seven."

                Danny smiled as they walked off. "They really are too cute together." Turning back to JJ she poked him in the chest. "Try not to forget anything, OK? Get snacks and alcohol, at least."

                "I know, I know!"

                She waved. "Well, I better go then." Dirk was beginning to look annoyed, now that it was only the three of them. "See you later Jamie." She kissed him on cheek then ran off to join her father who was glaring at JJ.

                JJ stood alone in the airport for a minute, raising one hand to his cheek. "…" He shook his head. "Guess I better get going…" He looked around. "Where's the nearest exit? Airports are so confusing…"

*              *                *

                "Eh? Dinner with Danny and her family?"

                "And Josh and Sean and JJ, yeah." Ryo frowned, brushing some dust off his jacket.

                Bikky cheered. "Yeah!! Carol's coming too?"

                "Dee's on the phone with her right now. Getting permission from her aunt."

                "Do we have to dress up?"

                "She didn't mention it so I don't think we have to worry about it too much. Try to look nice though."

                "Of course!" Bikky sounded offended. "When are we eating?"
                "We're meeting them at the restaurant at seven. It's an Italian place."

                "That's cool…" Bikky looked at the clock and made a face. "I better go shower." He glared at Ryo. "You should've told me earlier!"

                Ryo sweatdropped. "We couldn't find you and we had to get ready ourselves, you know."

                "Bah." Bikky waved him off. He ran out the door, nearly hitting Dee with it in his excitement. He glared up at the other cop. "The bathroom's mine for the next hour!" Then he was gone.

                 "Brat…" Dee looked over at Ryo who was searching through his closet. "Just throw something on, you'll be fine. Well, as long as you make sure it's color-coordinated and not too ragged."

                "It's not that easy, you know."

                'Sure it is."

                Ryo set the coat down. "Not everyone's as casual as you, Dee."
                Dee shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You look good in whatever you wear."

                "Dee…"

                "Hmm?" Dee peered into the closet, riffling through the shirts. "Something wrong?"

                "N-No…"

                Dee pulled out a couple of shirts. "Really?"

                "Really."

                Dee watched him for a minute. "Hn." He laid the shirts out on the bed and frowned, considering. Ryo watched him for a minute as reached first towards one then the other, then pulled back, thinking. He hid a laugh and snuck up behind Dee, wrapping his arms around him. "And here you are complaining that I'm taking my time choosing."

                "As long as you're taking your time I might as well." Dee retorted.

                "Hmm…" Ryo breathed in Dee's ear. "The black one looks better on you."

                Dee turned and kissed him. "And of course…" He sat on the edge of the bed pulling Ryo into his lap. "You'd know."

                Ryo didn't bother replying verbally, kissing Dee back and tangling one hand in his hair the other resting on his stomach. Dee concentrated on Ryo's shirt, unbuttoning it. He managed to get it totally undone, despite considerable distraction, and pulled it off, moving down to kiss Ryo's throat. Ryo groaned, throwing his head back and arching against Dee as the other man began to work on his belt buckle and… the door burst open and Bikky wandered in, drying his hair with a towel. Ryo yelped and squirmed, causing Dee to lose his balance and both of them to fall onto the bed. Dee blinked at him. "Wha-?"

                "Bi-Bikky…" Ryo struggled to stand but tripped on his own pants and nearly brained himself on the dresser. He managed to land undamaged on the floor but his feet were caught in his trousers which were down around his ankles. When the hell had Dee…

                "You OK?" Dee helped the blushing Ryo up. Ryo nodded.

                Bikky, who hadn't seen anything due to the towel over his head, was searching the dressers and tables. "Where'd that brush go?"

                Dee frowned, watching him wander around. He muttered under his breath. "I hate kids…" Then walked over and grabbed the towel, vigorously working it through Bikky's hair. Bikky, of course, protested violently but Dee ignored him, drying his hair off and tossing the towel into the corner. He pulled a brush out of a dresser drawer. "Here, but bring it back."

                Bikky made a face at him but was firmly pushed out the door by Dee. Ryo sighed. "Thanks…"

                Dee shrugged then went back over to the bed. "So…the black one you think?"

                Ryo stared at him helplessly. Of course, Dee wasn't the one with his pants around his ankles but shouldn't he be just a little upset? "Yeah."

                Dee picked up the other one and returned it to the closet. He tossed a white polo shirt and some khakis over to Ryo, pulling out some black Dockers for himself. "That should work, you think?" He quickly changed into the Dockers and a white tanktop, pulling on the black shirt and leaving it half unbuttoned. He posed. "Well?"

                Ryo smiled. "You look good." He went back to working on his shirt, the collar button was causing him problems. Dee pouted. "You didn't even really look." He walked over to help Ryo with the collar button. "Lean your head back a bit…There we go."

                *flash click*

                The pair blinked and turned to see Carol sitting on the bed, camera in hand. The girl grinned. "Caught on film!"

                "You sure got here fast." Dee replied, not stepping back from Ryo.

                "It doesn't take me that long to get here, you know."

                Dee shrugged. "Yeah, but girls always seem to take forever getting dressed."

                Carol grinned, turning in a circle to show off her outfit. She was wearing a deceptively simple outfit. Black pants, boots and a midriff-baring tee with a short, black jean coat. "Yeah, but Danny got me this outfit and I hadn't worn it yet. This seemed the perfect chance."

                Dee nodded, looking her over. "Very nice." She preened. "Danny got that for you, huh?"

                "Yeah. It's an outfit from her new shirt." Carol grinned. "It's actually not available in the stores yet."

                "Doesn't look all that new to me."

                Carol frowned at him, lifting her foot. She pointed at her ankles. "It's all in the cut. It looks simple but really it isn't."

                Dee laughed. "You sound like a fashion designer."

                Carol shrugged. "Danny's been letting me help out a bit. I'm Sean's assistant, sort of." She grinned proudly.

                Ryo smiled. "That sounds like fun." His voice turned warning. "But don't start skipping school because of it."

                She laughed. "I wouldn't! Sean and Josh would never let me get away with it, anyways."

                "They'd better not."

                "Anyway," Carol hopped off the bed and ran over to hug Ryo. "Thanks for inviting me along."

                "It wasn't us. Danny's the one who's arranging everything." Dee sprawled on the bed. "So we're just waiting for Bikky?"

                Carol laughed. "He'll be awhile. He's trying to look really good." She frowned at Dee. "…Do you have a brush?"

                Dee started to gesture at the dresser then paused. "No, Bikky has that one…Check the bathroom, he probably just missed it."

                She nodded and ran out of the room. Ryo sat on the bed beside Dee. "We might actually be early."

                "For once."

                Carol returned a minute later carrying not only the brush but a few other hair care products. Ryo knew they didn't have hair spray and gel and mousse in the house, so she must've brought at least a few of the things with her. She stood beside the bed and pointed imperiously at Dee, directing him to sit on the edge of the bed. To Ryo's surprise he actually did so.

                Carol played with the hem of Dee's satiny shirt. "Where'd you get this?"

                "Danny." Dee grinned. "I think she's decided to make us all fashionable."

                Carol giggled, unbuttoning Dee's shirt. He raised an eyebrow but didn't move to stop her. She stepped back and nodded. "Much better." She then grabbed her brush and went to work on Dee's hair. Dee sighed, a long-suffering sound. "I guess Danny isn't the only one set on making me over."

                Carol hit him lightly with the brush. "Be nice or I'll get out the make-up."

                "…That's not funny."

                Carol grinned, tracing the brush along his cheekbone. "No, really. A bit of blush, maybe some eye shadow…"

                "No way! I'll let you play with my hair and clothing but no makeup!"

                "Fine, fine." Carol went back to work. Ryo laughed, watching them. She turned to look him over. "… You need something dark."

                "Eh?" Ryo blinked. "Me?"

                "He looks better in light colors." Dee offered up an excuse.

                "Yeah, but you two aren't really complimentary like that. You should be coordinated." She frowned, pondering. Dee patted her on the head. "He doesn't have time for one of your makeovers, we have to leave in ten minutes."

                She pouted but grabbed her supplies and ran off. "OK, I'll hurry up then."

                Dee blinked. "I thought she was done already?" He shook his head. "I'll never understand girls."

                Ryo shrugged, moving to sit by him. "I wonder if Bikky's ready yet?"

                They heard a brief scuffle outside as Carol tried to kick Bikky out of the bathroom. Dee sighed. "Kids…" He grabbed Ryo and pulled him into his lap, resting his chin on his shoulder. Ryo smiled and leaned back against Dee. "I think it's sweet she went to that trouble although… You don't really look that much different."

                Dee snorted. "Probably changed how my hair was folded, or some such nonsense."

                "I guess." Ryo smiled, tracing a finger down Dee's chin. "You do look good though."

                Dee kissed him. "You look absolutely delicious."

                Outside the bedroom the kids continued to argue even as they got ready. Ryo smiled, leaning into the kiss and wrapping an arm around Dee's neck. They might not be a traditional family but that just made things better sometimes.

End part 3